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US mulls new sanctions on Venezuela to pressure Maduro

Thursday, 01 March 2018 2:08 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 01 March 2018 2:10 PM ]

The White House is seen on February 28, 2018 in Washington, DC. (AFP photo)

The administration of US President Donald Trump is considering a full-scale oil embargo against Venezuela in order to mount more pressure on the country’s President Nicolas Maduro.

The administration is reviewing a plan to sanction a Venezuelan military-run oil services company and restricting insurance coverage for Venezuelan oil shipments, a US official said on Wednesday.

The possible new sanctions would target Venezuela’s vital oil sector beyond what has been done before, including an eventual full-scale ban on Venezuelan oil shipments to the United States, the US official told Reuters.

“I think (it would cause) a fairly strong shock to the oil market in the short term,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“Oil sanctions are not taken lightly,” the official said. “This would be a fairly strong escalation for US policy, whether it’s a complete oil sanction or salami slices of different graduated steps.”

Venezuela was the fourth largest supplier of crude oil and products to the United States in 2017, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Its crude oil sales to the United States last year were the lowest since 1991, according to Thomson Reuters trade flows data.

The Trump administration is also weighing possible sanctions against additional senior military and political figures, including Diosdado Cabello, vice president of Venezuela’s Socialist Party, the official said.

PressTV-US weighing oil sanctions on Venezuela: Tillerson

The top US diplomat says the sanctions are necessary in order for Venezuela to “return to its constitution.”

Washington has already slapped financial sanctions on Venezuela, forbidding American citizens and companies to negotiate debt issued by the Caracas government and the state oil company PDVSA.

Experts say new US sanctions would potentially harm ordinary Venezuelans, already suffering from food shortages and hyperinflation, but have little or no impact on the Venezuelan government’s policies.

Venezuela, which sits atop the world’s largest oil reserves, has been struggling with a worsening economic situation during the past years, causing the civilian cross-border journeys into Colombia to purchase basic commodities and foodstuffs.

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